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We get it – you’re not a planner. You’re not even sure what to have for breakfast this morning. But that doesn’t mean a daily planner can’t help you save time, energy and stress.

And for the skeptics in the room: planners and calendars are actually doing better in the age of the smartphone.

Why is that? A planner has benefits that people still recognize. Here are 10 reasons to use a planner to get your life on track.

1. Reduce Stress

Stress is just as bad as prolonged sitting. It’s a 21st-century epidemic, and it has lots of nasty effects on your health.

Writing down your tasks instead of carrying them around all day in your head can be a huge stress reliever. What’s even better is having a spot where you can check off tasks as you complete them.

There are, of course, ways to stress yourself out by keeping a planner. Isn’t stress fun like that? Here’s how to keep the overwhelm out of your daily organization.

2. Define Your Priorities

It’s funny how much easier life is when you can see your priorities in front of you.

Let’s say you want to finish that big project to wow your boss. Or work on your marriage every week. Or maybe even just get your dry cleaning done.

Having your priorities written out in front of you makes it easier to hone in on what you want to spend time on. Plus, it ensures you get things done in a timely manner.

Instead of scrambling for pieces, you’ve got the big picture right in front of you.

3. Cut Down on Mistakes

Despite the fact that you think you’ve got a memory like an elephant, everyone makes mistakes.

And you’re more likely to make silly mistakes (missing appointments, forgetting meetings, or neglecting due dates) if you’re relying solely on the power of memory.

Life gets busy. This means your memory gets occupied by lots of different things.

Having a daily planner you can glance at will result in fewer mistakes and quicker progress.

4. Improve Focus

There’s a reason you never set foot in the grocery store without a grocery list. So that you remember to buy cat food and don’t buy things you don’t need, like sprinkles.

It’s the same basic idea with a planner.

Writing down what needs to get done in the day is like going into your day with an action plan. It helps you figure out what you need to accomplish, how you’re going to accomplish it, and how much time you need to do it.

And in the process, you’re streamlining the number of steps it takes to get from point A to point B, which means you’re minimizing distractions and working faster.

5. Keep Records

Remember the last time someone asked when your next appointment was? Perhaps you’ve had a moment of blind panic because you couldn’t entirely remember whether it was right now or not.

Having a daily planner you use on a regular basis is like your own personal ledger. It lets you track when you did what and where you were and where you need to be.

Your memory gets taken up by various tasks during the day. A planner acts as your personal backup.

6. It Boosts Your Memory

Besides giving you a place to check your memory, using a planner can actually boost your memory.

How? For starters, the act of writing something down helps you remember it more easily.

Second, using a repeatable daily system in a planner helps train your brain to recall things more easily within that system.

7. Keep Your Goals on Track

It all comes back to the bigger picture.

You have goals. But all goals involve a series of steps to get there. And goals are often part of a larger web of things you want to accomplish.

Like it or not, you need a plan.

A daily planner can help you break down everything into manageable chunks. It also makes it easier to figure out where you are in the process. It can also help you track metrics to evaluate your performance – and do better next time.

8. It Provides a Starting Point

You need to do that data entry. But you also need to work on that presentation and make those phone calls.

And suddenly your head is spinning before the day has even begun.

This is where sitting down with your planner is a lifesaver.

When you have your daily list written down, it becomes easy to see the magnitude of tasks. Plus, you can determine how big they are relative to each other, and thus, where you should start your day.

9. Practical Steps to Conquer Your Day

You have big goals. And you know you have it in you to knock them out of the park. But without actionable steps to conquer them, you’re fighting an uphill battle.

It’s one thing to see the big picture. Seeing it broken down into steps that you can get done in a day or a week is a different thing.

It gives you a sense of where to get started and how that step feeds into the steps that will follow. And before you know it, you’re halfway to completing your goal (maybe even faster than you originally envisioned).

10. Get Stuff Done

This underpins all nine previous points – if you’re getting a planner, the truth is, you need to get stuff done.

Whatever success means for you – a killer board meeting or having enough time to spend with your kids – having a plan will help you accomplish it. Financial planning is a MUST people even borrow loans from https://gadcapital.com/ a legit lender just to finance their start-up business. You need to think twice before doing this!

Find the Right Daily Planner for You

Let’s be honest: you need a planner.

What that planner looks like is totally up to you.

For example, you might be looking for the kind of planner that can help get your whole office on track. So maybe you’re really looking for a large whiteboard – it’s essential to keeping your office creative and productive.

Or maybe you’re searching for a large wall calendar, so you can see your whole month right in front of your desk.